<p>My family has a different financial situation this year compared to other years. For this one year, my father works 6 days a week (about a 60-70 hr work week, he has a manual labor job), so his income is a lot higher than usual. Because of this, my father's income is unusually high. My mother is does not work due to her health.</p>
<p>Additionally, my father also has had a compulsive gambling problem since my childhood, but it was not really a problem in recent years due to all the financial obligations he's had (house, car, mom's bills) which pretty much ate up all of his earnings. However, since he's had a spike an income, his gambling has become a problem again. Because of this, my mother has not been living with my father, but my sibling & I did not find this out until recently since we have been away at school and working over the past year.</p>
<p>Since this situation is a lot different from the years I've been in school, I don't really know what to put for down on FAFSA for my sister and myself. Is there something that should be done differently since my parents have not been together for most of this year? I also fear that our financial aid will be affected with one less parent and my father's increased income.</p>
<p>Your father’s gambling will not enter into the equation at all.</p>
<p>Are your parents separated in that they are planning to divorce?</p>
<p>Many families have an income difference from year to year. Need based financial aid is based on the previous years’ earnings for EVERY student. You are no different than any other student in this regard.</p>
<p>The thing you need to find out is your parents intended marital status. That could make a difference in how you complete the FAFSA. The other question…when home from college where did YOU live…with dad or mom? It sounds like with DAD. If that is the case, and they are separated…you would have to use your dad as your custodial parent…and list his income.</p>
<p>If your parents are separated AND you lived more with your mom…you would list only her income/assets on the FAFSA, but this does NOT sound like it is the case.</p>
<p>Are these FAFSA only schools? If not, and you have to complete the Profile or a school form, it is likely you will need to report both parents’ income and assets.</p>
I am unsure of this. My mother did want to be apart from my father to see if his gambling issue would improve. If it does not, I believe she intends to at the very least, continue living away from him. I know that in the past when divorce was brought up, my parents did not plan to go through with it because it costs too much.</p>
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I know this, but this year my Dad has a significant increase in income. It is about $25,000 more than previous years. If I report his income, it may put our eligibility for federal and state grants in jeopoardy. In this coming year, the company is putting my dad back on his normal schedule, so his income will be in the range where financial aid won’t be an issue. However, the 2012-13 will be my last year in college, so I’m unsure what to do if my sibling and I will not qualify for aid.</p>
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I have rarely been home during 2011. I was home for about a month after the end of the semester (end of May - end of June). During this time, I was with my mother. The only time any of us are able to see my Dad is when he is off once a week.
During Thanksgiving and Winter breaks, I have spent equal time with both parents. The same applies to my sister, except that in the summer she stayed with our mother while I went back to school.</p>
<p>If they are separated- even if it is informally- then it counts for FAFSA. ( isn’t dependent on tax filing status)
IF your mother is your primary parent- then her income ( including child support or whatever your father gives her for bills) would be noted on FAFSA.</p>
<p>However, if your father is your primary parent than his income would count for FAFSA.</p>
<p>It’s not as clear as that. The OP’s mother has no income. Where is her support coming from? I’ve read here that parents can be separated in the same house but if the student lives with both parents then the higher earning one is used. That might be the case here.</p>
<p>^ This is very true and kind of along the lines of what I was wondering. Mom lives with her eldest sister/my aunt (rent-free, their house is paid off and my aunt is in retirement). Since I’ve been in college, she’s made sporadic income in various ways (overnight babysitting, housesitting, etc) and I believe she just saves it and only uses it when needed. To my knowledge, she has no other expenses. </p>
<p>I also don’t spend much time with either of my parents due to school and work, and am not financially dependent on either of them. So I don’t really know who should be my primary parent.</p>
<p>Your FAFSA parent is the person you spend the most time with in the past year, OR the one who was your FAFSA parent in the most recent year that you lived with one of them. Sit down with a calendar and see if you can find evidence that you have spent more time with your mom than with your dad. If you haven’t, your dad would still be your FAFSA parent.</p>